[TWS] Chapter 287 – The Cloistered Village

After a quick and fast dive, which clearly was more stylish than necessary just to entertain Miria and the other girls, Ast’s draconic form touched the dark brown ground near a sole tree in quite a distance. He immediately noticed the warmth of the dirt underneath his claws and warned everyone. His fire resistance was obviously high enough to completely mitigate the strong heat.

Silvia cast a spell that enveloped their bodies with a protective layer that absorbed the bothersome heat and collected its energy for later use. They slid off Ast’s back as he lowered himself as far as he could and they hopped onto the solid ground right next to the thick, twisting tree. He soon transformed back into his natural, humanoid form. Though, at this point, Asterios wasn’t really sure which one should be called such.

“Everything alright?” He turned to Zoe, who was still slowly recollecting herself from the rapid descent involving a bunch of loops, barrels, and spins.

The wolfgirl sent him a slightly wry smile while nodding. “Yes… Just a moment, please… I’ve never experienced anything like it…”

“It’s so incredible, isn’t it?” Miria grinned at her while supporting her friend. “Almost orgasmic, you could say!”

A trace of a blush decorated Zoe’s cheeks as she lowered her gaze, stealing some embarrassed glances at Asterios. He, in turn, started checking his surroundings in more detail.

“The grass here is damn tall and thick. It’s going to be a pain in the ass moving through it,” Grea commented while scrunching her nose.

She was right. They would be swallowed almost up to their shoulders by the reddish stalks, swaying gently under the touch of the warm, moving currents. Most of the Steppes was covered in them, save for some occasional patches of empty ground here and there, especially around the lone trees.

“I still can’t believe I rode a real Dragon…” Zoe’s whisper reached Ast’s ears and he chuckled softly.

“I hope I didn’t scare you too much back at home.” He glanced at her over his shoulder.

She shook her head. “No, it’s alright. I admit that I got a bit startled at first, but I was kind of expecting it. Just perhaps not to this level of transformation and size. Miria never really straight up confirmed anything, but it wasn’t that hard to piece things together from all her talk about draconic things and themes.”

The panthergirl in question giggled shyly and her ears flopped down onto her black hair as she directed a timid smile at her beloved master. It was clear that she had wanted to keep as much about him as a secret from the others, but her easily excitable nature got somewhat in the way of that.

He didn’t mind this much, though. There had been more little hints about his true lineage he himself hadn’t bothered covering up. And they weren’t planning on remaining as secretive as in the past.

“I’m glad to hear that my other form doesn’t bother you.” Asterios nodded at the canine girl.

“Not in the slightest. I think it’s amazing. It’s like you are the alpha of all the alphas. The true ruler of all beastfolk. I don’t think there are any other lineages that are worthy of such a title. At least, that’s how I feel while gazing upon your draconic visage,” Zoe admitted with a faint spark in her eyes.

“It’s only natural for the Dragon King, fufufu~” Selene chuckled quietly with an impish smile.

He rolled his eyes at her. “Not this again.”

The girls laughed softly and they regrouped at the edge of the clearing. After a brief discussion, they assumed a simple formation with their melee fighters on the sides and ventured into the tall grass. Umbra took the skies while Aura swirled around her mistress just in case.

With the guidance of their shadowy friend, they didn’t have that much trouble spotting occasional obstacles like hidden boulders or uneven earth. He directed them through the shortest path to the Lizardkin village.

About halfway there, Asterios stopped and held up his hand, furrowing his brows. Everyone instantly scanned their surroundings while tensing up. He wasn’t sure if it was just his mind playing tricks on him in this weird place, but he wasn’t going to take any chances. Reaching for his draconic sources, he enhanced his senses almost to their limits.

The flicker of presence he had noticed just a moment ago appeared once more.

“Ten!” Asterios shouted and Selene put up a spiritual barrier in a flash, covering their northwestern side.

A fraction of a second later, something smashed into it with a loud snarl and bounced back into the tall grass. Tina wasted no time and spun around, increasing the size of her water scythe. The blade cut the stalks cleanly in a circle around them and shot a ring of sharp waves further away, creating a decently spacious clearing.

Their ambusher managed to survive the counterattack and they finally laid their eyes on the sneaky enemy. A massive, furless tiger stood low to the ground. Sharp tusks protruded from its upper lip like deadly sabers. Most of its body was covered with thick, somewhat scaly skin, while the top of his back grew what looked like a perfect imitation of the red grass previously surrounding them. The beast was clearly well-equipped to hunt in this unforgiving region.

“This is perfect!” Miria laughed cheerfully. “Master! Leave this one to me and Zoe!”

“Huh? Me?” The wolfgirl’s brows raised as she glanced between Asterios and Miria.

“Alright. But make it quick. I think there are more of them encroaching on us and I’d rather not use my aura to intimidate them this close to the village.” He nodded at them.

“Don’t worry, Master! We’ll make it clean!” The panthergirl bounced happily around her best friend and dragged Zoe forward.

The Wolfkin lady quickly recollected herself and switched into her battle mood. Or, perhaps hunting mood, in their case. They were both skilled hunters who had worked together very often in the past. Asterios was honestly a bit curious to see them in action.

Miria kept her blades out as she enabled her full bloodline, turning into a literal panthergirl. She didn’t give the saber-toothed tiger any time to pounce on their group again and dove straight for its big head. Zoe stepped to the side and kept on the move too, light on her feet, barely pressing onto the sliced grass.

The beast parried Miria’s first strike with a quick flick of its muzzle, crossing one of its tusks with her weapon. She barraged it with a flurry of blows, forcing it to dodge continuously. Its focus was fully on the assailant in front of it and the tiger almost missed the tip of the spear coming right for its side.

Zoe’s stealthy strike from its blind spot barely grazed the creature’s scaly skin as it jumped away. That was enough for the wolfgirl to realize just how tough its hide was. But, she didn’t let that failure get to her and resumed moving at once. In the meanwhile, Miria’s shortsword came at the beast while it was distracted and left a shallow cut on its shoulder.

She cursed to herself and coated her blades with Ast’s mana instead of purely hers. She had wanted to imitate their old hunts with Zoe and limited her magical abilities but it just wasn’t enough to seriously wound their opponent.

Thankfully, the duo still retained their amazing cooperation developed over many years of fighting together and Zoe instantly covered for her friend’s mistake. As the beast whipped its head at Miria to strike back, the wolfgirl’s spear lodged itself between its hind legs and it stumbled during an attempted leap.

Making use of the created opportunity, the panthergirl drove one of her swords into the tiger’s chest before jumping back. She left it with a strong kick to its head, which sent it reeling to the side with a pained growl. A fraction of a second later, Zoe’s spear jabbed into its eye with great precision and more yowls filled the air.

She used all her strength and dragged the beast’s head down, holding it steady. Naturally, Miria followed with a mighty overhead strike right away and beheaded the tiger easily. A single slice was enough and both halves dropped to the ground with a soft thunk.

Miria then arched her back for a moment as her growls grew louder. She ran her gaze all over the edges of the cleanly-shaved clearing and released a ferocious roar into the sky. A small shockwave bent the grass outwards. Everything fell silent afterward.

~They seem to be retreating,~ Umbra commented in their minds.

“They do,” Asterios confirmed with a nod.

Everyone moved closer to the decapitated corpse and Miria trotted up to him to receive her reward in the form of headpats. He met Zoe’s gaze and nodded at the wolfgirl respectfully. She couldn’t really compare to Miria in terms of pure power, but she had clearly put a lot of work and effort into becoming the best hunter she could without skipping any steps. Her techniques and strategies didn’t lie.

“Good job. I now feel even worse for stealing two of the best hunters your village has to offer.” He chuckled lightly, making Zoe’s tail swish like crazy behind her back.

After Miria transported their kill back home through her gate and left it in the hands of her parents, they continued ahead, wary of any more ambushes. Fortunately, nothing else jumped at them for the rest of the distance until the edge of the empty ground around the settlement.

Right on the other side of the cleared-up space was the defensive wall made of the same mud as the houses behind it. They started walking towards one of the visible gateways, certain that they had already been spotted the moment they had stepped into the open, especially with such a big group.

As expected, a party of Lizardkin came to intercept them before they got too close, and a dozen of armed and armored individuals blocked their path. They were all beastfolk with the same features, varying only in the shade of those. Their tanned skin was covered with sporadic scales. A few men had their forearms and shins protected too, similar to Miria’s fur. They had red eyes with black vertical pupils, looking quite fierce.

In terms of gear, they wore greaves, bracers, chestplates, and shoulder pads made of some dark brown metal. They wielded mostly spears or curved swords to match those. Underneath their armor, they seemed to use what looked like ornamental cloth and fabric, decorated with plenty of themes revolving around flames.

The person with the fanciest garments stepped forward, most likely the group’s leader. Additionally, it looked like he had a tail. A long and thick appendage rested on the ground behind his back, covered in the same scales as on his hands and feet. No one else in his group possessed one.

“Who are you and what do you want with our village?” The man spoke with a firm, somewhat hostile tone.

Before anyone else could answer, Zoe moved to stand a step in front of Asterios.

“Greetings, warden. My name is Zoe Searfang. These are friends of mine who decided to accompany me during my pilgrimage to the land of my ancestors. My kin lived alongside you in the past and I heard a lot about this place from my parents and grandparents. We only wish to see your village and the fabled crater. We would also be grateful if you allowed us to rest within your settlement during our stay,” she explained without hesitation.

He scrutinized her with his reddish eyes before doing the same with the others.

“While your visit might be possible to be discussed, we don’t allow outsiders into our sacred home. We never had, even in the age when many lineages lived together behind those walls,” he informed her.

“I assure you that they are good people. They protected me on the way here and we’ve come from far, far away. Our home isn’t that far from the Frozen Wilds if you are aware of these. It’s like dozens of times the distance between your village and the Squelching Glade,” Zoe replied. “Is there really no way for us to go in all together? I can’t leave them on their own in these dangerous lands filled with strong predators.”

Silence returned as both parties stared each other down without a single word. The leader of the wardens took his sweet time considering Zoe’s requests. It was clear that it wouldn’t be easy to legitimately get inside the Lizardkin settlement. It was a bit curious as none of the records and stories Ast’s group had researched presented the Lizardkin as this hostile towards the other subraces.

“I’ll bring you to the chief. He will decide what to do with you,” the man finally answered after a long while. “Follow me and don’t try anything funny. Don’t think about stepping away or interacting with anyone. Is that clear?”

Everyone on Ast’s side nodded and the captain of the squad turned around. They listened to the man’s orders, following shortly after him. Asterios noticed that he was also the only one whose armor had two weird vertical slits on the back, sealed with also cut leather material. It didn’t really feel necessary, unless it had something to do with the environment. But then, no one else had armor with those so it most likely wasn’t that.

The guards encircled them and led their party past the gateway. Streets and buildings exactly the same as they had witnessed from the air greeted them. From up close, they looked even more seamless with the ground. They were simple and lacked real style or external decorations. A semi-talented or experienced kid could build similar structures at a much smaller scale out of clay.

As they moved through the streets, plenty of Lizardkin, both male and female, gazed at them hesitantly. Many actively removed themselves from sight and only some individuals or groups openly stared at the unusual procession. Everyone wore simple robes or attire made of the same rough material and hides. The only difference was in decorative etching, dyes, patterns, and such. Asterios and the girls were starting to think that those were synonymous with one’s status.

They noticed a few individuals with tails amongst the crowds but their owners were the ones to hastily retreat most of the time. Mothers scooped up their children as soon as they noticed the walking strangers. No one could really blame them considering what the lead warden had said earlier.

Soon, they arrived in front of a multi-level clay structure resembling a small, awkward fort. Their escorts led them inside and brought everyone to what might be a waiting lounge. Contrary to the girls’ expectations, the furniture wasn’t made of mud and clay. Though, rather than using the scarce wood, the Lizardkin tribe had developed its craft with the tall, reddish grass, skilfully woven into full wardrobes even.

After waiting in the room for about half an hour, accompanied by half of their previous escorts, someone finally walked inside to join them. The man who appeared in the empty doorway wore the most complex and heavily-patterned robes they had seen so far. He had a mature yet youthful appearance, scaled arms and legs, and his tail hidden by his draping clothes. His eyes and scales were pretty much the same as most of the people they had seen while his short hair was light brown.

“Welcome to our humble settlement, travelers. My name is Presto and I’m the chief here,” he began with a soft smile. “What brings you to these vicious lands?”

Zoe repeated her earlier statement and Presto stared at her with a squint while rubbing his chin.

“Searfang… Yes… I remember…” He nodded to himself. “They were good hunters, if not the best amongst all the tribes. I’m glad to hear that they managed to escape the Steppes those long centuries ago.”

“Does that mean you would permit our stay? We just want to experience the culture of our people from the past. And, of course, take a glimpse of the crater if that’s not forbidden or something. I assume there really is nothing left from the crashed meteor, right?” Zoe asked with a light chuckle.

The man hummed to himself while thinking. “The landing zone is nothing more than an empty hole, just like you say. As for visiting it and staying here… As long as you swear to act respectfully and not involve yourselves too much with our affairs, I don’t think I have a reason not to allow you safe passage and rest. Our people are extremely wary of any outsiders so you can imagine why.”

“We don’t plan on bothering anyone,” Asterios replied. “It’s only natural that they would be hesitant or even scared of our presence. Unless someone willingly approaches us, we won’t force a single person to interact with our group.”

“Very well. I hope you won’t think badly of me for assigning you at least a few guards. In the end, we are still complete strangers to each other, even if one of you might be the descendant of someone born here in the ancient past,” Presto said.

No one disagreed with the chief’s suggestion and three of their escorts became their guides and supervisors. The lead warden wasn’t amongst the selected candidates as he most likely had important duties or responsibilities to uphold.

Not wasting any more time of the chief, Asterios and the girls left the clay keep and roamed the streets for a little while. They hoped to stumble on a curious person or two but literally everyone avoided getting too close to them, choosing to stare from a distance or safety of their pane-less windows.

It looked like Asterios would have to direct their questions at the chief, in the end. He didn’t want to touch a sensitive subject too early with him to avoid getting chased away or rejected, but the residents were much less cooperative than they had expected.

Therefore, they asked their escorts to lead them to the meteor’s crash zone. Ten minutes later, they stood on the edge of a quite sizable crater, comparable to a small pond. While it wasn’t too wide, it seemed decently deep. Even though it had clearly been excavated into oblivion, the slight angle to its entirety was still somewhat noticeable.

The meteor might have struck the ground at a quite sharp angle. Dark brown earth spanned over the crater’s belly, picked clean out of whatever metals and ores could have previously been available to be gathered there. All the evidence of excavation was definitely old so it was obvious that they weren’t getting any meteoric stuff this easily.

Their only hope might be the tribe itself. Granted Lizardkin wouldn’t immediately turn on them after learning that they had come to steal their precious gift from the heavens. It didn’t look like the hole could have housed a lot of the incredible ore.

Deciding to finish their sightseeing for the day, they asked their escorts to bring them to a place where they could spend a night. The guards brought them to a small, single-story house, currently standing empty. They noticed that it had been cleaned up a bit just recently, but not perfectly well. The traces that it hadn’t been in use for a little while were obvious.

“So, no easy ore for us, as expected. I wonder if these people even have any left. It could have deteriorated over so much time, right?” Tina sighed heavily as she plopped on the squeaky, sewn bed.

“I really hope we haven’t come here for nothing,” Miria said a little dejectedly. “What do you think, Master?”

The girls all turned to Asterios and found him deep in thought already. They waited patiently and he realized he had spaced out after a moment of their curious staring.

“I don’t exactly know why, but I feel like there’s something weird about this village.”